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JFX200 Owners

ProColorGraphics

ProColorGraphics

New Member
To those that have/had a Mimaki JFX200/EX. I am looking at adding one to my shop. My main thing is print quality. The speed won't be an issue, for a while anyways, as I am a one man shop. The prints I have seen from these are great and the only thing I have seen people complain about is that "they aren't fast enough now".

So other than speed, would you buy one again? Are they reliable? Is Mimaki good to work with? (never had a Mimaki before)

Thanks for the help!
 
FatCat

FatCat

New Member
I don't own one, but I'm in the same boat as we are considering our first flatbed and Mimaki was one that I was considering...

From what I have learned, the Mimaki prints very nice, the parts are common enough and there is enough user base that most problems have been solved or figured out by now. The bad is that they are pretty slow, a lot of people don't like the Rasterlink RIP that it comes with and there is no path to upgrade this machine - you would have to sell it and buy a different machine to get any add'l speed, features, etc.

For roughly the same price I would look at the Vanguard VR5D and the Stratojet 2512 - both allow you to add heads down the road to make the machine faster and/or add white ink capability if you need it. They also are built more beefy overall - I have heard comments that the Mimaki feels like an erector set in comparison.

Again, just sharing what I have researched thus far..
 
S

Superior_Adam

New Member
I was one of the first to have a JFX200 as we ordered it before any were shipped into the states. I will say they are a great machine. They are slow but the print quality when we had ours was good. We just had to upgrade to a faster machine to keep up. If I had room I would have just ordered a second machine. Very low maintenance and I knew when I turned the machine on it was going to be good to go. We sold the machine and they came and picked it up on a gooseneck trailer and hauled it a few hours away. They said it moved great and started printing right away no problems so its built durable enough for that as a standard goosneck trailer is not the smoothest ride.
 
Solventinkjet

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
FatCat said:
I have heard comments that the Mimaki feels like an erector set in comparison.
Click to expand...

It uses a honeycomb aluminum table which can be damaged easily when moving. It does come in a steel structure that is reusable though. You can pick it up with a crane or forklift with no issues. But yeah, if you tried to move it without that, good luck!
 
G

Graphic Realm

New Member
ProColorGraphics said:
To those that have/had a Mimaki JFX200/EX. I am looking at adding one to my shop. My main thing is print quality. The speed won't be an issue, for a while anyways, as I am a one man shop. The prints I have seen from these are great and the only thing I have seen people complain about is that "they aren't fast enough now".

So other than speed, would you buy one again? Are they reliable? Is Mimaki good to work with? (never had a Mimaki before)

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
We have 2. Looking to sell one of them if interested. The print quality is better than most other machines. The speed is the issue. By far one of the best white ink machines
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Graphic Realm said:
Check ink cost and service on the Azrizona!!
Click to expand...

One thing I'll say, is that our old Oce Arizona 318gl uses VERY little ink. I'm not sure if the Mimaki flatbeds lay down as much ink as our UCJV, but the amount/thickness of ink laid down by the Oce is much less. You can feel the thickness on the Mimaki and it shows when laminated. Definitely not the case with Oce prints, unless you're doing a bunch of layers.

So even if ink prices are higher for Oce, the ink goes further. (if that makes sense)

Comparing our Mimaki vs Oce ink costs, we're about $0.33 / ml with Oce 256 series ink and about $0.22 / ml with Mimaki LUS 170.

As for service, we've had our Oce for 6 years now and have never needed a service call aside from the annual maintenance visit. Had it go down ONCE in the middle of a big coroplast job and it turned out the motor just needed to be blown out with compressed air to clean out the carbon deposits from the brushes. (I believe the newer models have brushless motors)

Keep in mind this is still their entry level printer and we don't push it that hard, but it has been a very solid machine. I would consider buying one again but the Vanguards do look worth considering as well.

Good luck with your search Matt!
 
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